Zion Williamson

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson will undergo scans on his right foot this week to determine the next step in his recovery.

Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin told ESPN's Cassidy Hubbarth that the team is waiting for the bone to heal properly.

Williamson suffered a broken foot over the summer and is yet to have a timetable for his return to game action. He is yet to participate in any basketball activities and has only been running in straight lines.

“You can see he is progressing and doing more and more on the floor,” Pelicans coach Willie Green told reporters Wednesday. “Once he has his latest round of scans, then we’ll have a clearer picture of where we go from here. But he’s getting better, he’s progressing, he’s on the floor now, running, doing a lot more. We’ll have an update soon.”

Williamson has been spectacular when he healthy, coming off a 2020-21 campaign that saw him average 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to earn his first All-Star berth.

Staying healthy has been the main issue. Williamson missed 58 games during his rookie season with a knee injury and management, and he sat out 11 contests in 2020-21. By he time Williamson returns, it's almost certain he will have missed a full NBA season less than three years into his NBA career.

Concern about Williamson's body type and whether it would withstand the rigors of a full NBA season was perhaps the only knock on him coming out of college.

The Pelicans are determined to have Williamson at 100 percent when he returns and have made it publicly known they are working with him and his management on the best course to get him back on the floor.

Griffin entered the 2021-22 campaign on the hot seat, with the young Pelicans failing to make the strides most expected last season, leading to the one-and-done tenure of Stan Van Gundy. Green is the third coach of Griffin's tenure, and he'll likely be the last if the team does not start having more success.

The Pelicans have gotten off to a 1-3 start with Williamson out of the lineup. 

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without star forward Zion Williamson for Wednesday's season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers, but it's likely that the 2019 No. 1 overall pick is out for much longer.

Williamson is recovering from a foot injury that required offseason surgery. During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Williamson is without a firm timetable for getting back onto the court.

"No time soon," Windhorst said when asked about when Williamson might return. "The Pelicans are being very careful not to mention any timeline, but he is a few weeks away from getting reevaluated."

Windhorst went on to explain that New Orleans is moving slowly on Williamson's recovery to avoid aggravating his foot injury. Williamson also needs to get back into proper playing shape before he returns.

"He is not doing any kind of significant on-court work; he's just begun starting to run again doing one-on-zero individual workouts," Windhorst said. "I would say that it's likely weeks away. They obviously are gonna be very cautious, not only because of his foot, but because of his conditioning."

The 21-year-old Williamson is considered one of the most promising young talents in the NBA. He became the fourth-youngest player ever to be selected to an All-Star Game last season. In two seasons, Williamson has career averages of 25.7 points and 7.0 rebounds on 60.4 percent shooting from the field.

But Williamson has had trouble remaining on the court. He missed the first three months of his rookie season after suffering a torn meniscus. He sat out 11 games last season with toe and finger injuries. Windhorst said the Pelicans are becoming too familiar with Williamson not being on the court.

"The Pelicans are gonna start without Zion, but the problem is, they've been used to this," Windhorst said. "He's only played in about 50 percent of the games in the last couple years anyway." 

As news of Zion Williamson's latest injury setback trickled out of New Orleans last week, league personnel once again began to speculate on the looming 2022 extension talks between the New Orleans Pelicans and their 2019 No. 1 draft choice. 

This is not to say Williamson already has one foot out the door. No top pick in league history has chosen the qualifying offer with a one-year path to unrestricted free agency, versus a maximum contract extension projected to eclipse $200 million over five years. Yet this is how the modern NBA world turns. Front offices are as forthright as ever about scheming to land an alpha like Williamson from a downtrodden rival, and player movement has become equally as fluid. 

It's hard not to see the early parallels between Williamson's status in New Orleans and that of Ben Simmons in Philadelphia, where there were once nearly identical rumors about the 2016 top pick potentially taking his own qualifying offer to reach the open market. Simmons eventually accepted Philadelphia's contract and $177 million that same summer New Orleans selected Williamson, but that has meant nothing throughout this ongoing trade-demand saga.

Until Williamson puts pen to paper in July, rival front offices will hope and prepare for the possibility of a Zion free-agency frenzy come 2024. And even if Williamson does re-sign, teams will keep a radar trained onto New Orleans in hopes he seeks a trade like Simmons, just as Chris Paul and Anthony Davis did in NOLA before him. 

This is the ever-important backdrop behind last Thursday's news that Williamson won't appear in New Orleans' season opener Wednesday against Philadelphia, as part of a two-week-plus setback in his return from offseason foot surgery. There's a strong belief in league circles that the Pelicans were unaware of that procedure until Williamson reported to New Orleans ahead of media day, although one team source contacted by B/R maintained the Pelicans and Williamson were aligned on the injury's timeline. 

Before Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin addressed reporters last Thursday, word was already circling around the league that Williamson was unlikely to make his 2021-22 debut before November, at the earliest. It was even known in rival front offices that Griffin planned to speak on the matter rather than issue a press release. This all comes after league figures raised a collective eyebrow when Griffin blamed Williamson's season-ending finger injury on poor officiating.

There's an expectation that Williamson will resume play under a minutes restriction when he does take the floor, sources said, typical for stars returning from injury. But with Williamson, who bristled at the training wheels Pelicans officials placed on his reintegration from a torn meniscus injury as a rookie, it could be a higher-stakes game of poker. 

It all seems fair to wonder what kind of urgency New Orleans and Williamson will feel around his return. The Pelicans harbor plans for a playoff push, something Williamson himself strongly noted in early October, while the Williamson camp has at times held a tenuous relationship with Griffin, from the aforementioned 2019 reintegration plan to the fraught hiring of Stan Van Gundy.  

This now marks the second time in three seasons Williamson will miss the Pelicans' opening stretch because of injury. He's been hampered with knee and foot maladies dating back to his time as a Blue Devil. 

And for all of his apparent gripes about New Orleans' abundance of caution with his health, the combination of Williamson's injury history and his fluctuating weight throughout his early career would concern any front office, especially a small-market nucleus so invested in his long-term availability to the franchise. The risk of reinjury is always too real and far too treacherous. 

"I do think there is another gear that I can reach regarding my weight and conditioning," Williamson told The Old Man & the Three podcast in March. "But I think it's like you said, it's finding it. Because I don't want to get to a spot where I'm like, ‘Yeah I lost a lot of weight, but I don't feel strong. I can't do certain things I would do before.' I think it's just finding it. I do think there is another gear I can reach regarding both weight and conditioning."

He's since reached north of 300 pounds this offseason, sources said, again fueling concerns among New Orleans staffers similar to the months leading up to his rookie debut. When he joined the Pelicans' recent preseason trip to Minnesota, several league personnel on hand were struck by his heavier appearance than his listed playing weight last season of 284 pounds. "I know Zion at 280, and he was not 280," said one observer. 

"These are the injuries you have to be the most concerned about, a foot injury for a guy with noted weight issues," said one Western Conference executive. 

While Williamson did board that flight to Minneapolis, he did not attend preseason road trips to Chicago or Utah, sources said. This after a summer in which Williamson backed out of plans to accompany general manager Trajan Langdon and fellow All-Star Brandon Ingram in Phoenix to attend a Suns playoff game. 

Although, according to one team source, Williamson skipped those Chicago and Utah trips to stay back in New Orleans with the team's medical staff and instead focus on his rehab with a strength coach.  

All this has occurred before a regular-season game has even tipped. When it comes to harmony within NBA teams, context is everything. Winning has proved time and again to be the magical elixir that can squash or excuse any sign of strife within a franchise. And again, no player has ever turned down such a lucrative rookie extension that Williamson will surely qualify for and New Orleans will surely offer. On media day, Williamson did say it was "all love" between him and Griffin.

If Williamson can return at full force and lead New Orleans into the playoffs, the Pelicans could build momentum toward the future, just as the No. 2 pick from his class, Ja Morant, has done in Memphis. The electric point guard seems all but destined to re-sign with the Grizzlies next summer. League observers far and wide are still wondering whether Williamson will do the same.

Jake Fischer covers the NBA for Bleacher Report and is the author of Built to Lose: How the NBA's Tanking Era Changed the League Forever.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is going to miss the start of the regular season after having surgery on his foot. 

David Griffin, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, announced on Thursday the All-Star forward has no timetable to return and will be reevaluated in two weeks. 

During Pelicans media day on Sept. 27, Griffin told reporters that Williamson had offseason surgery to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot.

"He had a fractured right foot that was repaired surgically," Griffin said. "His timeline should get him back on the court in time for the regular season. That would be our hope and our view. And we're very optimistic about what that looks like."

Any injury to the 21-year-old is sure to cause some worry considering he didn't even make his debut as a rookie in 2019-20 until January because of concerns about his health. He appeared in 24 games that season but was still selected to the All-Rookie first team.

The Duke product was even more dominant in his second season and made his first career All-Star Game while averaging 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game and shooting a league-leading 61.1 percent from the field.

Williamson is the team's most important player for this season and the future, so the Pelicans will want to ensure he is fully ready to go when it comes to returning from any setback.

With Williamson sidelined, look for the combination of Naji Marshall, Jaxson Hayes and Willy Hernangomez to see more playing time.

The Pelicans open the regular season on Oct. 20 against the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Zion Williamson made it clear how much he loves New Orleans in a conversation with Pelicans play-by-play announcer Joel Meyers and color analyst Antonio Daniels on Friday:

"New Orleans—I love it here," Williamson said in part. 

"Anybody that knows me, they know that I love New Orleans. This is the city for me. I'm a low-key dude, I don't do too much, and the city just fits me."

It's been a tumultuous start to Williamson's Pelicans career, although that's no fault of his own.

He's entering his third NBA season and has already had three head coaches in Alvin Gentry, Stan Van Gundy and Willie Green.

Williamson has been exceptional, averaging 25.7 points on 60.4 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds per game. But the rest of the team has largely struggled, going 30-42 in 2019-20 and 31-41 last year.

That's all in conjunction with the fact that Shams Charania, Will Guillory and Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported on June 17 that some of Williamson's family members want him to leave New Orleans for another team.

The report read in part:

For months, sources from all NBA corners have pointed to the Pelicans as a heap of dysfunction. There was a growing unease between Van Gundy and his players, and Van Gundy and the New Orleans front office, which came to a head Wednesday with the veteran coach and organization agreeing to part ways with three years left on his contract.

Most of the attention, however, from numerous sources across the league, has centered on Williamson's family members' thinly veiled unhappiness with the Pelicans, and whether those feelings seeped into the player's own views.

Williamson is under team control through at least the 2022-23 season, when the Pelicans hold a team option. He's set for restricted free agency in 2023.

We'll find out down the road whether Williamson becomes a Pelican long-term or looks to leave town a la Anthony Davis' departure for the Los Angeles Lakers, but for now, New Orleans is looking to improve under Green as the team braces for its regular-season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 20.

The New Orleans Pelicans are among the NBA teams with the most to prove in the 2021-22 season.

The Pels disappointed after being a preseason darling, finishing as the No. 11 seed in the West and not even making it to the play-in tournament. With pressure mounting in the locker room and front office, Pelicans players looked to create a sense of confidence Monday at media day. 

David Griffin on Zion's Injury, Building a Winner

The biggest news coming out of David Griffin's presser was Zion Williamson's previously unknown foot injury. Williamson fractured the fifth metatarsal of his right foot but is expected to be available for the start of the regular season.

"He was working out on his own on the court, and frankly was doing an unbelievable job, it's crazy sometimes what happens when you look your best," Griffin told reporters. "But he was doing that prior to summer league and suffered the injury on the court while playing."

Williamson and his family met with team staff Sunday to go over his expected recovery period. There have been reports that Williamson "detested" the Pelicans' handling of his return from a knee injury during his rookie season, so it was clear Griffin wanted the collaborative nature of this effort to be public.

As Griffin faces mounting pressure to create a winner around Williamson, he maintained his overarching goal is to build a team with sustainable success.

"We're trying to build a team that understands how to win in a sustainable way. That understands key moments in games and recognizes those moments and seizes them. This team was really young when we put it together—it continues to be fairly young—but I think we've got young veterans now. We're learning how to win," Griffin said.

Zion Williamson on Rumors of His Unhappiness

As for Williamson himself, he spent a lot of time dispelling rumors, including one very important one: No, Griffin did not play piano for him in the NBA bubble.

"Guys, I'm not letting a grown man come to my hotel room and play a piano for me," Williamson said, laughing.

Williamson's future with the Pelicans has been the source of speculation throughout the offseason, and the third-year forward did his best to squash any thought of him leaving New Orleans.

"I love it here. I love the city of New Orleans. I don't want to be anywhere else...It's all love with me and Griff. It ain't much to dive into. It's just love between us. We're both competitors, we both want to win. Do we disagree on some things? Yeah, who agrees on everything?"

That sound you heard was a collective sigh of relief emanating from the city of New Orleans.

Brandon Ingram on Becoming a Leader, Getting Better in Offseason

Coming off what some would consider a disappointing 2020-21 season, Brandon Ingram appears to be motivated to bounce back. Both Griffin and coach Willie Green complimented Ingram for going out of his way this offseason to take on a bigger leadership role with the franchise.

"I don't think it's nothin' extra I did. It's just me wanting to be around my teammates, me just trying to get the best out of this thing. We want to win, ultimately, and to win we have to know each other on the offensive and defensive end and be ready for whatever comes," Ingram said.

Ingram added that he went to work getting stronger and working on his defensive game, saying he wants to "have a better presence" on that end of the floor.

"I'm hoping that trickles down to everyone on the team, just having that as our identity this year. We know we can score the basketball. I think it's gonna be important for us to dial in on the defensive end and grow as men," Ingram said.

Willie Green on Embracing New Orleans

Green, in his first NBA head coaching job, is Griffin's second hire in as many offseasons and knows the pressure is mounting. The former NBA guard says he sees some of the same hunger he saw as an assistant in Phoenix.

"We got a lot of hungry young guys who are ready to take the next step. When I got to Phoenix, that's what I saw immediately and that's what I see here in New Orleans. Along with that, our city, this city, and our fans, are hungry for it too," Green said.

Green added that he sees an opportunity for the Pelicans to bring the city together in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which created massive damage throughout Louisiana earlier this year. 

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson had surgery to repair a fractured foot in the offseason, general manager David Griffin told reporters Monday.

The forward is expected to be ready to play at the start of the regular season. The Pelicans open the year Oct. 20 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 21-year-old appeared in 61 games last season after missing a large chunk of his rookie season following surgery for a torn meniscus. He ended the year on the sideline, however, after fracturing his left ring finger. Griffin chalked the injury up to wear and tear.

"I believe he probably suffered the injury over a period of time," Griffin told reporters in May. "It's a striking injury. It's a blunt-force injury. He was being beaten on the hand over and over and over again. For me to tell you one time, I don't think I can do that. I don't think he knows one time."

The 6'7", 284-pound Williamson has played 85 games through two NBA seasons and is now recovering from another issue heading into his third year.

The All-Star has still lived up to expectations on the court, averaging 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 2020-21.

New Orleans will need Williamson healthy as it looks to return to the playoffs after three straight losing seasons.

The New Orleans Pelicans did their best to hold back Zion Williamson during his rookie season, and the forward was not a fan of his treatment.

Christian Clark of NOLA.com provided a breakdown of Williamson and the team's differences during 2019-20:

Throughout his rookie season, Williamson had grown increasingly frustrated with the Pelicans for the number of hoops they required him to jump through to return from the knee injury he suffered in the preseason. The team initially provided a return-to-play timetable of six to eight weeks, but it took more than three months for Williamson to get back on the floor. When he was finally given the thumbs up to play, he was placed on "burst" limits, which he detested. The way Williamson's return was handled caused significant tension between him and the team's medical staff, sources said.

Williamson only played 24 games as a rookie, averaging 27.8 minutes per game. He averaged just 20.7 minutes in five appearances during the NBA restart in the Florida bubble as the Pelicans fell out of playoff contention. 

It has helped create a "sour" relationship with Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin, per Clark.

It made sense for the Pelicans to remain cautious with Williamson. The 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick was one of the most hyped prospects in a decade, and the team wanted to avoid any potential long-term damage.

The problem is it has created a divide between the player and the organization, which is significant with the 21-year-old eligible for an extension next offseason.

Though no NBA player has ever turned down a max extension on a rookie contract, the rift could be enough to persuade Williamson to look for options elsewhere.

Despite being limited at times, the Duke product has thrived, earning an All-Star selection in his second season. He finished 2020-21 with averages of 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, hitting 61.1 percent of his shots from the field.

His 7.1 offensive win shares ranked third in the NBA behind only Nikola Jokic and Damian Lillard, per Basketball Reference.

The Pelicans will hope to mend fences with the talented big man before he chooses to leave.